More of this Feature • Part 1: Advantages of Alternative Equipment

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We haven't tried the SpeedBall for doubles yet, but for singles it changes platform tennis from a game of short points generally dominated by the player at net to long points equally winnable from baseline or net. Passing the net player with the slow ball is difficult, but so is putting away a volley.

Lobbing is easier than passing. The SpeedBall is much easier to lob accurately than a platform ball and much harder for the net player to smash for a winner. Sheer power on an overhead is useless: placement is much more valuable. This is good training for the tennis (or platform) player who just blasts away at overheads without much attention to aim.

For an intense workout, try a set of SpeedBall platform singles where the ball must always bounce before it is hit. You and your partner will be running corner to corner and baseline to net, trading a mixture of angled topspins, heavy slice drives, and delicate drop shots. (A great drop shot will get your opponent forward enough to have trouble getting back in time to take the ball after its bounce.) This game is great practice for footwork, positioning, hitting angles, and using one shot to set up the next.

If you want some intense groundstroke practice, try a set where the ball must always land between the service line and baseline. Start each point with a drop-hit that's reasonably playable for your opponent. You'll have to work some good combinations of angles to win a point, and you'll be well rewarded for full, powerful strokes.

Using the SpeedBall with short racquets is by far the best variation we've found on platform tennis, but it's not perfect, and it doesn't replace regular platform tennis. Reducing the effectiveness of power makes for longer points and puts an instructively useful emphasis on placement and spin, but we find ourselves wishing we could blast a clean winner a little more often. While the SpeedBall rewards full-length tennis groundstrokes, it offers very little incentive to try a powerful serve, and the only serve spins that have much effect are the underhanded ones. Regular platform equipment is better for encouraging good serving habits. Also, the SpeedBall rarely comes off the back wall enough to be playable, so one of the most enjoyable parts of regular platform tennis is missing.

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